Does anyone else feel like this board is nothing like what they are seeing IRL at their kid's public HS?

[Anonymous]

I actually find DCUM college forum to be a reflection of a section or a fragment of the reality we saw at Whitman HS in Bethesda.

There are kids who are way, waaay more accomplished in terms of what they are getting done than you hear about on this board. The reason is that the parents are protecting their interests and not spreading ideas. Whereas their kid has to push really hard with extraordinary extras and very early academic achievements to be something seen as above and beyond the "standard" straight A student who plays violin in the orchestra and is the captain of some expensive sport.

I learned a lot from just tiny bits of information that my DD picked up when she was in MS and HS and we catered it to her interests and ambitions in a way that put her top of her class when she graduated and went to a top 10 college (attending now).

So take what you can I say - there's plenty to be learned here if you can spot and put aside some of the bragging / inconsistencies and fabrications.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The DCUM college message board is in all respects a fair and accurate reflection of the reality children and parents face in running the gauntlet of college admissions. Truly it holds the mirror up to nature.

There is no bragging, exaggeration, neuroticism, satire, trolling, competition, sock-puppeting or selection bias here. Anonymity ensures that all you are getting is the pure unvarnished truth, from entirely normal and well-adjusted people.

And sometimes, it seems, the truth hurts.

Well done

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our four kids went to North Arlington publics (Yorktown/W-L/HB Woodlawn). A handful of grads went to Ivies, a few more went to other top 20 privates, and a few others went to top LACs. I have no doubt these numbers would be quite a bit higher without UVA or William & Mary and in state tuition. One of my own kids turned down a top 20 for UVA, and another turned down W&M only because they were offered a large merit award from a top 15 LAC.

The point is that the college choices that you're seeing don't mean that the kids can't get into the top privates -- it's that they're either not applying or not choosing them because of the excellent in state options. We are talking about public school families. They just don't place the premium on private colleges that private school families do.

There’s some truth to this, but I think the numbers are still probably quite small. ACHS (which is the largest high school in the state) always publishes its grads’ destinations in the local paper, and there are usually only a handful of T20s listed. That’s often just one or two kids to each of those schools. Even if you throw in some “going to UVA but could have gotten in higher” kids, you’re looking at maybe 3-5% of the class total going to T20s or could have.

[Anonymous]

We are a Langley family and definitely see the mania IRL. What is missing is the value of looking at lower-brands schools. My DS attends a lower-brand university and has been afforded so many opportunities (paid internships, etc.) that would be hard to get at a T20 school due to the cut-throat competition for those opportunities. My DS is now applying to graduate schools, with a load of research under his belt and excellent grades in the most rigorous classes. His university was terrific in the support it provided to ensure students excelled. Best money ever spent, and made us realize that all the mania was nonsense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I actually find DCUM college forum to be a reflection of a section or a fragment of the reality we saw at Whitman HS in Bethesda.

There are kids who are way, waaay more accomplished in terms of what they are getting done than you hear about on this board. The reason is that the parents are protecting their interests and not spreading ideas. Whereas their kid has to push really hard with extraordinary extras and very early academic achievements to be something seen as above and beyond the "standard" straight A student who plays violin in the orchestra and is the captain of some expensive sport.

I learned a lot from just tiny bits of information that my DD picked up when she was in MS and HS and we catered it to her interests and ambitions in a way that put her top of her class when she graduated and went to a top 10 college (attending now).

So take what you can I say - there's plenty to be learned here if you can spot and put aside some of the bragging / inconsistencies and fabrications.

I have 2 kids who have gone through Whitman. What we noticed then was the kids who ended up at Ivies were legacies or athletic recruits or both. Some even straight up lied about race and EC’s to get into top schools.

[Anonymous]

FCPS parents don't know how impressive the W schools are in MCPS, more impressive college admissions, far greater wealth. FCPS parents can't relate to anything outside their NOVA bubble, other than anything bragging about UVA/WM, and that there exists a choice of middling other state schools.

[Anonymous]

My DS also went to a "mid tier" FCPS high school.

About 200 kids posted to their IG decisions page. Which means twice as many didn't bother.

30 to VT
15 to UVA
15 to JMU
10 to GMU
5 to WM
5 to South Carolina

Ten to various elite schools such as Brown, Amherst, Cornell, NYU.

A large number (at least 15) went to "other" schools in Virginia - ODU, CNU, UMW, VCU, Randolph Macon.

[Anonymous]

We aren't in the DMV but our public doesn't send many to top15. This year we had maybe 3-4 to Duke.

Our kids do well at Duke, CMU, Michigan, UVA and Case Western and pretty good at Cornell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We aren't in the DMV but our public doesn't send many to top15. This year we had maybe 3-4 to Duke.

Our kids do well at Duke, CMU, Michigan, UVA and Case Western and pretty good at Cornell.

How big is the overall class?

Having 3-4 accepted to Duke (or any other single T10 school) would be an incredible result from our 320 student graduating class (highly ranked public school in the Midwest).

Duke tends to take 1-2 a year from our school, as does Northwestern, Cornell, Brown, Williams, and Dartmouth.

Sometimes a Princeton, Columbia, or Yale.

Can’t think of a single Harvard or Stanford in the past 5 years (other than a D1 recruit at each school).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I actually find DCUM college forum to be a reflection of a section or a fragment of the reality we saw at Whitman HS in Bethesda.

There are kids who are way, waaay more accomplished in terms of what they are getting done than you hear about on this board. The reason is that the parents are protecting their interests and not spreading ideas. Whereas their kid has to push really hard with extraordinary extras and very early academic achievements to be something seen as above and beyond the "standard" straight A student who plays violin in the orchestra and is the captain of some expensive sport.

I learned a lot from just tiny bits of information that my DD picked up when she was in MS and HS and we catered it to her interests and ambitions in a way that put her top of her class when she graduated and went to a top 10 college (attending now).

So take what you can I say - there's plenty to be learned here if you can spot and put aside some of the bragging / inconsistencies and fabrications.

I have 2 kids who have gone through Whitman. What we noticed then was the kids who ended up at Ivies were legacies or athletic recruits or both. Some even straight up lied about race and EC’s to get into top schools.

Sure that is also true but it doesn't negate what I wrote. Given the number of kids at Whitman both versions as well as others are completely possible.

[Anonymous]

Some even straight up lied about race and EC’s to get into top schools.

How would you even know this? You saw their applications?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:no bc we are at a private high school.

Hopefully your kids will graduate with better reading comprehension than you have.

Agree. Must be a middling private HS. They love Clemson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FCPS parents don't know how impressive the W schools are in MCPS, more impressive college admissions, far greater wealth. FCPS parents can't relate to anything outside their NOVA bubble, other than anything bragging about UVA/WM, and that there exists a choice of middling other state schools.

What does this post have anything to do with the thread subject?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FCPS parents don't know how impressive the W schools are in MCPS, more impressive college admissions, far greater wealth. FCPS parents can't relate to anything outside their NOVA bubble, other than anything bragging about UVA/WM, and that there exists a choice of middling other state schools.

"far greater wealth"? maybe .. 30 years ago
looking at the 2025 committments, only Whitman had some bragging rights. The rest, Wootton, Walter and Churchill seem middling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We go to a Virginia public HS that is not Langley/Oakton/McLean/etc.

Top kids are looking at maybe Duke/Cornell/Darmouth but maybe 1-2 kids a year go to a T15 school. Maybe 20 or so kids a class go to UVA, another 40 go to Tech, same for JMU, a sprinkling go to W&M if they want a small school. Then you have the party kids going to big southern state schools. Then you have the kids that didn't get into JMU who are at Longwood, CNU, etc.

Is this what others are seeing?

It is dcum land. Not real life.